Making Steam Forums More Friendly and Welcoming

[76561199540158642]

This is a game store forum, designed to welcome and befriend fellow Players.
it is also designed to help them troubleshoot problems in games.

This Section is to offer suggestions to steam, it has becomes steam failure to respond to such suggestions.

some people have forgotten this an turned this section into a social wreck , bullying, topic attacking, and generalized insults plague steams suggestion forum.

I understand steam is powerless to do anything which makes this issue even more alarming.

Please Post Solutions and Suggestions on How steam can maintain a more friendly platform.

This suggestion is in the hopes Steam for once acknowledges it has problems and starts to create solutions to improve its appeal to its players.

[Aachen]

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

…. This Section is to offer suggestions to steam, it has becomes steam failure to respond to such suggestions ….

No “becoming.” Always been.

…. some people have forgotten this an turned this section into a social wreck , bullying, topic attacking, and generalized insults plague steams suggestion forum ….

“Topic attacking?” What is that neologism to represent?

…. I understand steam is powerless to do anything which makes this issue even more alarming ….

Simply an incorrect understanding.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

I understand steam is powerless to do anything which makes this issue even more alarming.

Oh they aren't powerless, they have been in fact banning the trouble makers, they just need to get more nuclear and ban them permanently when they refuse to learn

[76561199540158642]

seems like its spot on, another example of steams unfriendly and unhelpful issues.

If steam had power to make its forums meaningful I very much doubt snide replies from unhelpful instigators would exist.

I am pretty sure that my topic express's that they are powerless, no reason to try and argue about steams ability to hand inappropriate forum correction, its a failure by its moderation, who instead of keeping topics friendly and helpful, would rather attack individuals rather then enforce steams policy to all.

What this topics for is solutions to make steam friendly, it is not for people to cry over steams failures and to deny they exist. The Issue is one only steam can fix

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Self-inflicted issue.

Stop posting here. Problem solved.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

If steam had power to make its forums meaningful I very much doubt snide replies from unhelpful instigators would exist.

Don't worry, steam banned a few of those unhelpful instigators in the last few days so just wait and more bans will be coming. I mean heck, according to some of you i'm a secret mod so clearly I know what i'm saying.

Oh oops, wasn't supposed to say that I am a secret mod. I am totally NOT a secret mod and am not in any secret mod groups.

Oops, don't listen to that either...

[Pierce Dalton]

Originally posted by Brian9824:

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

I understand steam is powerless to do anything which makes this issue even more alarming.

Oh they aren't powerless, they have been in fact banning the trouble makers, they just need to get more nuclear and ban them permanently when they refuse to learn

Well, in reality moderation is powerless, because people keep making alts to come back. That's really funny to me, though, imagine missing this circus.

[76561199540158642]

i think that is a far reach, steam banning anyone is always just steam cover there own tracks, its been proven time and time again that when bans hit users, it is 9 times outta 10 because steam feels threatened and afraid of the content directed at it. Not because the user had done something wrong, Only because Steam is Afraid of being caught over the allegations.

Originally posted by Pierce Dalton:

Well, in reality moderation is powerless, because people keep making alts to come back. That's really funny to me, though, imagine missing this circus.

That is actually a good point, and it should be known that because of steam moderation being so poorly handled and lashing out at users, it has created this problem.

People are generally good, and want to be helpful, however when you have a forum that is to offer suggestions and trouble shoot problems, users will often notify others of the problems they see. When steam systematically tries to punish those for speaking up over the issues, retaliation is going to occur.

Steam punishing accounts leads to more accounts being created, so steam then has to punish more accounts to keep the information hidden.

So in another words by removing the content and refusing to acknowledge it steam has created a even bigger problem, and has to deal with more outspoken negative platform complaints due to its poor handling of situations.

steam needs to remember that you can't just sweep issues under the rug, you have to address them and respectfully listen to your users. Not to create a moderation guise of users who troll the forums working for steams benefit and not for its customer base.

[Aachen]

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

i think that is a far reach, steam banning anyone is always just steam cover there own tracks, its been proven time and time again that when bans hit users, it is 9 times outta 10 because steam feels threatened and afraid of the content directed at it. Not because the user had done something wrong, Only because Steam is Afraid of being caught over the allegations.

No, it has not.

And banning someone over fear of being “caught” for (nonspecific, unknown) allegations isn’t strategic.

[Teefa]

The number one priority should be implementing a modern blocking system, one on par with the best practices of other social media platforms. Blocking should block, both ways, and completely. That is to say, blocking should completely prevent all social interactions between the user and the blocked user. eg If you block someone, neither you nor they can see the other's forum posts or replies. They would simply stop existing in your social media experience.

This would immediately prevent the worst and most moderation heavy interactions on the forums. It would immediately prevent the most hateful and spiteful behavior from the forum regulars. Spiritually, certain sad-sacks with nothing better to do might even be pushed into setting aside their silly and bigoted grudges and move on with their lives.

As is, blocking does almost nothing. The abusers continue to abuse. And new comers to the forums continue to be chased off by all the "helpful" people who seemingly refresh this forum constantly in search of the next oh so meaningful culture war forum fight.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

Not because the user had done something wrong,

Three of your alts being banned disagrees with that comment and maybe it will be a case of 4 strikes and you're out, as you are ban evading on this account.

As for:

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

Please Post Solutions and Suggestions on How steam can maintain a more friendly platform.

Perma ban accounts for ban evasion.

Ban escalations.

Ban all alt accounts if one account gets banned.

Auto attach the main account name to any alts.

Etc, etc.

[Mad Scientist]

Oh you want suggestions?
Permanently ban accounts used to ban evade & have stated ill-intentions on the forums. If they have a primary account that has products, lock it for the amount of time an individual has been trolling the forums multiplied by the amount of accounts used to do so. If that ends up being 1 Year or more with the result, delete all of the accounts & ban the payment methods associated with the account(s).

Originally posted by Teefa:

The number one priority should be implementing a modern blocking system, one on par with the best practices of other social media platforms.

If people want social media, they're free to use social media instead of the forums, especially for places that will only allow one-sided groupthink if that's the desire of the individual(s).
Forums are intended for public discussion, not controlling who can/can't post or be visible because some are unhappy with mere disagreement with fairly bad ideas.

Originally posted by Teefa:

This would immediately prevent the worst and most moderation heavy interactions on the forums.

Incorrect. Properly punishing troublemakers with escalating bans & learning to show them the door would prevent tons of moderation work. Especially by removing individuals that just claim all forms of disagreement is 'harassment' as it shows some are unwilling to have an actual civil discussion.

Originally posted by Teefa:

It would immediately prevent the most hateful and spiteful behavior from the forum regulars. Spiritually, certain sad-sacks with nothing better to do might even be pushed into setting aside their silly and bigoted grudges and on with their lives.

I don't see it "hateful" or "spiteful" or "bigoted" for people to merely have disagreements with terrible ideas.

---

Originally posted by Nx Machina:

Originally posted by Golden Unicorn:

Not because the user had done something wrong,

Three of your alts being banned disagrees with that comment and maybe it will be a case of 4 strikes and you're out, as you are ban evading on this account.

They really need to not tolerate ban evasion.

[76561199540158642]

Ban evasion is a far cry, looks more like certain people are upset that they created a monster of the system moderation system, and now don't want to acknowledge the monster they created, just continue to push it under the rug.

what ever issue you might have is your own, trying to make the steam forums more friendly is the best way to turn steam around for the better.

users can stop trying to point fingers at others, they can stop trying to attack people outright. What they can do is be grateful for the suggestions and those willing to help make steam better.

I do understand most people fear change, however steam has changed over the years, and it will change in the future, its my hope that steam changes for a better, not closing itself off to everyone, but expanding its forums to open conversation and discuss in a much more broader and less manipulative nature.

Rule Number 1. You can't force silence platform users. it leads to more aggressive outlashing at the system.

Rule Number 2. Denying problems will never fix them, unfixed problem continue to create unwanted issues that develop into larger and more problematic issues.

Rule Number 3. Accepting criticism over past issues while willingness to adapt and address and even fix past issues shows a platform growth and its ability to provide what its users want.

Rule Number 4. Friendly Community Presence only happens when issues that plague the system are address and the community whole, not those wanting to represent the community are pleased with the situation and its policy's.

[xBCxRangers]

Well they should close the Suggestions, being they're suggestions individuals make, and should not be up for discussion. They should be made and locked imo, and this post say, would be a "Steam Discussion".

And so i think that's "one" way to improve things, that a "suggestion" should not mean, cross examinations of the poster themselves, or other matters.

[Aachen]

Originally posted by MrNewell123:

Well they should close the Suggestions, being they're suggestions individuals make, and should not be up for discussion ….

Counterpoint: they’re being made on a discussion board, therefore they will remain open, public discussions.

…. And so i think that's "one" way to improve things, that a "suggestion" should not mean, cross examinations of the poster themselves, or other matters.

Then report derailment.

[Truth]

It's funny seeing people talk about coverups. I used to work in Internal affairs for nearly 30 years and I've seen some REAL corruption and coverups being perpetrated. The worst case I ever saw was this older guy in the NY police department, completely technology illiterate (which was a massive boon in our investigation)

Anyways he was doing some real corrupt stuff, anyways he lets call him Ranger as he liked to go by it since I can't use his real name. Ranger rather then charging him and firing him he was forced into "retirement" because if it came out how corrupt he was it would cast a pall over the entire department and they had just resolved several other scandals.

THAT is a coverup, not this "OMG that person got a forum ban so it must be a coverup" BS

Trying to claim they are banning people to cover things up as usual makes no sense, if they wanted they could easily nuke all the posts, perma ban the account, etc. Would be easy to do, yet they don't.